Mark Robinson called himself 'black NAZI!' in posts on porn message board, CNN reports
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson said he's staying in the gubernatorial race amid a whirlwind of controversy spurred by a damning story from CNN.
On Thursday, CNN claimed that Robinson - under a username he frequently used online -- made several inflammatory comments on a message board of a pornography website more than a decade ago, including one comment where he allegedly referred to himself as a "black NAZI!" and another where he reportedly wrote that slavery wasn't all bad.
ABC News has not confirmed this reporting or the online username alleged to be linked to Robinson.
CNN reported that the comments were made by Robinson between 2008 and 2012 under the username "minisoldr" on "Nude Africa," a pornographic website that includes a message board.
"(The comments) were made under a username that CNN was able to identify as Robinson by matching a litany of biographical details and a shared email address between the two," CNN reported.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Robinson denied ever making the comments. When asked to explain all the matching details in the profile of the username, Robinson said that a billionaire's son had spent more than $1 million on AI to undermine him.
"The things that people can do with the internet now is incredible, but what I can tell you is this, again, these are not my words," Robinson told CNN. "This is simply tabloid trash being used as a distraction from the substantive issues that the people of this state are facing."
CNN also reported that under the username used by Robinson on "Nude Africa," Robinson allegedly described a memory of "peeping" on women in the shower as a 14-year-old and allegedly also posted about watching transgender pornography.
ABC News has reached out to the North Carolina Republican party but has not heard back.
Just before the story was published, Robinson denied he made the comments and claimed the allegations were "salacious tabloid lies."
"Let me reassure you the things that you will see in that story, those are not the words of Mark Robinson," Robinson said in the video posted on X. "You know my words, you know my character and you know that I have been completely transparent in this race and before."
Robinson also alleged that his Democratic opponent for governor, Attorney General Josh Stein, leaked the story about him to CNN. Robinson has called out Stein in recent days to engage in a gubernatorial debate. Stein's camp has refused to do so.
Robinson, the state's first Black lieutenant governor, decisively won his GOP gubernatorial primary in March but has been trailing Stein in several recent polls.
SEE ALSO | Mark Robinson says his 'some folks need killing' comment was taken out of context
ABC11's Josh Chapin, ABC News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
